Yunomaru

Yunomaru Kogen Hotel sits right at the base of the lifts, so you can ski straight from the door. It is a big, old-school mountain hotel with Japanese-style family rooms, a handful of Western rooms, simple seasonal dinners and an open-air onsen bath with views over the plateau. Day skiers can use the bath too, and on a cold afternoon it is the best thing on the mountain.

There are a few other places on the hill. Lodge Kamon and Cityos Jizo are simple lodges near the lower slopes with home-style meals, and Pension Hoshi no Yado is a small, friendly option nearby. Narahara Onsen Asamaen, about 10 minutes down the road, is a quiet hot-spring inn with good food and a more traditional feel.

For more choice, stay in Ueda. The castle town has plenty of business hotels near the Shinkansen station, good restaurants and easy road access to Yunomaru, Kazawa Snow Area and Sugadaira Kogen. Karuizawa, about 50 minutes away, has more upmarket options if you're mixing ski days with shopping.

The No.6 high-speed covered chair is the main artery, a 1,040 m lift that runs up the main face and saves you from the wind on cold mornings. The steepest runs sit off the top: short, firm pitches up to 28 degrees that are fun to rip first thing while the grooming is fresh. The rest of the hill is wide intermediate and beginner terrain, with the triple and the pairs serving gentle lower slopes that are ideal for learners and kids. Natural snow is light and the snowpack is mostly machine-made early in the season, so expect firm, fast conditions and the odd icy patch on windy days. After a rare bigger storm, the edges of the upper runs hold soft snow for a few laps. There is no tree skiing and off-piste is closed, so treat this as a carving hill and bring sharp edges.

By car: take the Joshinetsu Expressway to Tobu-Yunomaru interchange, then about 20 minutes (14 km) of mountain road up to the resort. Winter tyres are essential, and chains are handy on storm days. Parking is free, with space for about 1,500 cars.

By train: take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Ueda, about 90 minutes from Tokyo, or the Shinano Railway to Tanaka Station. There is no regular bus up the mountain, but the hotel can arrange pick-ups for overnight guests. Otherwise, a hire car from Ueda is the easiest option.

Yunomaru suits beginners, families and intermediates who want a cheap, easy day near Ueda or Karuizawa, and early-season skiers who want to get their legs back in November or December. It is also popular with school and race groups, so weekdays early in the season can feel like a training camp. Advanced skiers will get a few hours of fun on the top pitches. Powder hunters and tree skiers should spend their big days elsewhere.

On the mountain, there are several rest houses at the bottom of the lifts serving ramen, curry rice, katsudon and soba. Nothing fancy, but warm and cheap. The standout is Atelier de Fromage, a well-known local cheese maker with a shop and cafe down the hill. Its pizza and cheese fondue are the best après food for miles. The roadside station Raiden Kurumi no Sato (kurumi means walnut) in Tomi sells walnut sweets and local produce, and the soba shop Maruyama is a good lunch stop when it's open.

Après means the hotel onsen or one of the hot springs on the way down. For dinner and drinks, head to Ueda, where the old castle town has izakaya, ramen and plenty of soba made from local buckwheat.

• Lift hours: weekdays 8:30 to 16:30, weekends and holidays 8:00 to 16:30. The season usually runs from late November to early April.
• Cheap days: look out for discount days, including days when primary school kids ski free.
• Wind: the top of the plateau is exposed. Bring a neck warmer and use the covered chair on cold days.
• Snow: low natural snowfall, but good snowmaking and grooming. Don't come for powder.
• Language: English is limited, but the layout is easy and the staff are friendly.

Nearby resorts worth pairing

Kazawa Snow Area is just over the pass in Gunma, about 10 minutes away, and has more vertical and one steep face. Sugadaira Kogen, about 50 minutes north, is a much bigger resort with more variety. Palcall Tsumagoi and Karuizawa are both within an hour if you want to build a road trip.